This magazine cover analyzes how media language creates meaning. It uses: - A pink/purple color palette suggesting it's for women. - Revealing clothing on the model to draw attention. - Heavy makeup and jewelry indicating wealth and success to persuade readers. The masthead places Gigi Hadid's name in front of the 'G' to highlight her fame. Cover lines provide insights and her direct gaze connects with readers. Her large name anchors her identity. The colors, lines, and model aim to appeal to aspirational women readers.

1. Magazine Front Cover Textual Analysis
Katie Lockwood

2. How does it use media language create
meaning?-Semiotics
• The pink/purple colour pallet suggests that this is more of a
feminine magazine and probably aimed at women.
• The clothing on the model is quite revealing and quite eccentric-
drawing the audience’s attention because she isn’t wearing
regular clothing.
• The heavy makeup, styled hair and amount of jewellery indicates
wealth and success-persuading the audience to buy the magazine
to look and become like the model

3. How does it use media language create
meaning?-Genre
• Masthead: Gigi Hadid is placed in front of the ‘G’ in Vogue to
indicate her fame and significance as a celebrity figure. The
masthead is also in black font, to contrast against the white
background and make it stand out.
• Coverlines: The Cover Lines help give the reader an insight of what
is inside.
• Direct Mode of Address: Gigi Hadid is staring directly into the
camera (extra-diegetic gaze) which helps connect her with the
audience for this magazine and hopefully persuades them to buy
it.
• Gigi Hadid’s name bottom, centre in large font to anchor her
identity (anchorage=reducing connotations; making it easier for
the audience to understand).

4. How does it use media language create
meaning?-Narrative
• Cultural codes: Gigi Hadid is a famous model on the internet, so
more people that use the internet (younger people, mostly) would
recognise her
• Cultural codes: The Cover Lines are in French indicating that it is a
French magazine, which could appeal more to French people.
• Semic codes: The pink and purple colour pallet typically holds
connotations of femininity and women

5. How does it construct purposeful representations?-
people/places/issues/events, ideology
• Femininity: The pink and purple colour pallet holds connotations
of femininity; However her pose wouldn’t be considered feminine,
it is more stereotypically masculine-looking as if she is powerful
and ‘standing guard’.
• Female: The Cover line in the top left translates into ‘no longer
taboo’ creating the ‘strong female image’ that is being potrayed in
this magazine, supported by her powerful pose.
• Ideology: Females should traditionally cover up their bodies more
to avoid being shamed but this revealing outfit disregards this
ideology as supported by the coverline ‘No Longer Taboo’

6. How is it constructed to appeal to its target
audience?-Demographics and Psychographics
• Demographics:
• Social Grades A,B,C1
• Traditionally female interests
• Female model to identify
• Psychographics:
• Aspirers-seeking to look as good as the model because they value:
status, image and appearance
• Succeeders- They seek confidence and the coverline ‘no longer
taboo’ is inspiring and seeks to build confidence in it’s audiences
• Explorer- Again, linking back to the coverline, this magazine
inspires adventure and trying something new which is what
explorers value.

7. How does its construction reflect its industry
context?
• Vogue Paris was published by Conde Nast (along with Glamour
and GQ (Gentleman’s Quality)) and is a horizontally Integrated
subsidiary of Advance Publications (Parent company)
• Mainstream Publisher with dominant ideologies i.e. Consumerism,
Image.
• It is part of a big media conglomerate so access to well-known
celebrities is easy

8. How does it use of media language create
meaning?-Semiotics
• Darker colour pallet helps promote genre of the film-
horror/thriller/drama
• The extra-diegetic gaze creates an intense feel to the
magazine and film it is promoting. Also makes the figure
connect with its audience more because it is staring directly
at them.
• The bright green text showing: the title of the film, iconic
horror director (Jordan Peele) and other films/t.v shows
inside the magazine to make them stand out from the darker
main image and background.
• Green, also, holds connotations of the past Jokers/ Joker
adaptations

9. How does it use of media language create
meaning?- Genre
• Masthead-in bold, silver-white text centred at the top of the
cover, behind the centre image
• The centre image of the Joker in front of the masthead to
signify it’s importance as a film and the character.
• Direct Mode of Address: Joaquin Phoenix (actor) is staring
directly into the camera, at the audience (extra-diegetic gaze)
• Bar code: positioned top left to be one of the first things read
when the audience uses the z-line
• The Cover Lines mention ‘spider-man’ and ‘Stranger Things’,
two productions that fall into similar genres as Joker:
Action/Drama/Thriller/Adventure etc.
• Strapline: ‘First look at DC’s subversive clown crime thriller’-
placed under main cover line
• Main Cover Line: ‘Joker’ positioned under main image in bright
green text to draw attention to it and inform the reader on
what’s inside.

10. How does it use of media language create
meaning?-Narrative
• Cultural Codes: Slightly older (adult) audiences may
recognise that the actor is Joaquin Phoenix, who has had a
long acting career.
• Enigma Codes: Someone who doesn’t understand who pr
what the Joker is may question why there is more than one
face on one man
• Semic Codes: The green text holds connotations of the past
Jokers, who have often been associated with green
• Symbolic Code: The dark background and the Joker’s blank
expression could symbolise the depressive, dark undertones
to this film and the content within the magazine itself about
it,

11. How does it construct purposeful representations?-
people/places/issues/events, ideology
• Masculinity: bold and rigid eye contact (extra-diegetic-gaze)
with the audience
• Masculinity: Traditionally, the black/grey/dark navy colour
pallet holds connotations of masculinity and seriousness.
• Mental health representation: Anybody who has seen the
film will know that it features mental health so to then put
this in the front cover of a magazine isn’t hiding it way like it
was done in the past.

12. How is it constructed to appeal to its target
audience?
• Demographics:
• This magazine could probably appeal to any of the social
grades because it features films which almost everyone
enjoys, especially ‘Joker’ which was enjoyed by a lot of
audiences.
• This magazine features a variety of films and TV shows, so it
isn’t aimed directly at one gender
• Psychographics:
• Explorers: This is a new representation of the iconic
character, so the explorer would be open to viewing this
interpretation
• Aspirers: The strapline ‘first look at DC’s…’ may appeal to
aspirers because then tend to be materialistic and it says
that this is the ‘First look’ so they may be eager to look at the
new film first. Also the tagline ‘All New Look’ would appeal
to their materialistic traits

13. How does its construction reflect its industry
context?
• Empire is a magazine published by Bauer Media Group( a
global company media conglomerate). It is horizontally
integrated.
• Other magazines from Bauer Media Group include: Heat,
Kerrang!, Mojo, Take a Break.
• It is published weekly, due to a big budget.